The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Compressors are used in a wide variety of industrial and residential applications to circulate refrigerant within a refrigeration, heat pump, HVAC, or chiller system (generally referred to as “refrigeration systems”) to provide a desired heating and/or cooling effect. In any of the foregoing applications, the compressor should provide consistent and efficient operation to ensure that the particular refrigeration system functions properly.
A refrigeration system may include a series of components such as a compressor, condenser, evaporator, valves, piping and electrical components. A compressor system of the refrigeration system may include the compressor and related components that may be packaged as a unit. The compressor may be driven by a motor and the compressor system may experience vibrations. The compressor and compressor system may have one or more resonant (or natural) frequencies which may be excited at corresponding motor speeds (i.e., frequency) and result in relatively high amplitude vibrations of the compressor and compressor system.
For a fixed-speed compressor, a suspension system such as grommets or other such devices may be added to the compressor system such that the operating speed of the compressor does not correspond to a resonant frequency of the system. In other words, the compressor system may be designed such that its resonant frequency is at an acceptable value in relation to the compressor's operating frequency. A variable-speed compressor may operate at frequencies above, below and including the operating frequency of a typical fixed-speed compressor. Thus, a suspension system as was described with respect to the fixed-speed compressor may not be suitable for a variable-speed compressor as it would normally operate at some resonant frequency without any other preventative solutions.